The Law of the Land. den of this monster, and then only to find him much like other men. The world, the professions, are full of scamps; yet there is one reason why the legal profession should have less scamps propor tionally than any other profession. It is that there is no worldly calling under the sun that, in addition to an extensive apprentice ship, demands of the applicant an unqual ified and unconditional oath before the portals are opened to him, except the legal profession. Listen : — "You do swear that you will support the Constitution of the United States and Con stitution of this Commonwealth, and that you will behave yourself in the office of at torney within this court, according to the best of your learning and ability, and with all good fidelity, as well to the court as to the client; that you will use no falsehood, nor delay any person's cause for lucre or malice." Having taken the oath, he becomes a sworn officer of the court. Let him violate the oath he has taken, let him deceive the court in order to win his ends, let him lie profes sionally, and in the twinkling of an eye he may be without a profession, an outcast from the law forever. The lawyer to be a scamp perjures himself to become one. Law as administered by courts furnishes many glimpses of life that must be interest ing to other than the professional mind. Take, for instance, this paragon of legal ity, — the lawyer, a privileged character of the world. You can talk to him and at him, and your confession of folly or otherwise is as naught, as though confided to a wooden post or to that old friend the lamp-post; for "professional communications between a client and his legal adviser are protected, and the attorney cannot be compelled to disclose communications." This is surely right; for if mortal could not confess to his lawyer, how would the latter know how to help his client? Yet law makes an occasional exception to this rule. The attorney, while the parties are in a state of friendliness, may be trying
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to keep them at peace by being the legal ad viser of both. In such a case what the par ties may have said or done to each other that was not in the course of the attorney's employment as attorney for them, or not in the nature of a professional communication to or from him, or matters communicated from each in the presence of the other, are not privileged from disclosure, and the at torney may be required to show on the witness-stand how he manages these ropewalking legal adventures. It may not be im pertinent to add that the lawyer generally proves himself equal to these rare occasions with an explanation. Courts, while disposing of the weighty problems of mankind, do not despise such smaller matters of life as an adjustment of one's right to a position in air or space. A room is rented on the second floor of a house, the building burns, and the rent is paid for such room to the date of the fire. But that is not enough for the greedy land lord, who not only does not rebuild his house, but sues the tenant for payment as nomi nated in the bond to the end of the term. This episode requires the court to divest it self of this specimen of common-sense, that "the lessee is discharged from his covenant to pay rent by the burning of the building, so that enjoyment of space in air demised to him becomes impracticable." Men die; but when the Irishman becomes compelled to resort to this extremity, his friends and relatives cannot resist the temp tation of celebrating the event with a wake at the expense of the dead man. Courts, however, discourage these festivities, by re fusing " to burden an estate with the cost of a ceremony which, under the pretence of honoring the dead, simply panders to the appetites of the living." A wake lately in question stood fire; for the court considered it so exceptionally frugal, being "cheese and crackers and tobacco," that it was ordered to be paid by the estate, with the comment that "a banquet less provocative of hilarity could not be well imagined."
